Golf bag cuff



M. KISH, JR

GOLF BAG CUFF Jan. 25, 1966 Filed June 5. 1965 I5. E. j PAV/@6760477 2*/ INVENTOR Jan. 25, 1966 M. KlsH, JR 3,230,992

GOLF BAG CUFF waf United States Patent O 3,230,992 GOLF BAG CUFF Michael Kish, Jr., Hightstown, NJ., assignor to Atlantic Products Corporation, Trenton, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Filed .lune 5, 1963, Ser. No. 285,788 6 Claims. (Cl. 15G-1.5)

This invention relates to golf bags, and more specifically relates to a novel arrangement for the reinforcing band of a golf bag cuff.

Golf ba-gs are normally formed of a tube of appropriate material which is terminated at either end with an upper and lower cuff. A rigid band such as a steel or aluminum band is then provided about the periphery of the cuffs to preventtheir collapse. These reinforcing bands are then covered with a strip of relatively thin, flexible material such as leather which suitably matches the appearance of the bag wherein the leather strip forms a pocket to receive the reinforcing band.

A severe problem presented by this type of construction for many years is that the thin leather strip will be worn through relatively quickly. Thus, the steel band is directly exposed around portions of the periphery of the bag so as to require frequent repair.

One cause of this wear is that the strip covering the band extends beyond the profile of the cuff and is, therefore, subjected to more abrasion than any other portion of the cuff. A second reason for this wear is that the steel band is not directly secured to the cuff and, therefore, is free to move within the pocket defined by the covering leather strip. Thus, the strip is subjected to both internal abrasion from the band and external abrasion from objects outside of the bag.

The principle of the present invention is to provide a novel reinforcing band structure for golf bag cuffs which eliminates the use of thin pocket-forming strips and wherein portions of the band extend directly externally of the periphery of the cuff. Thus, external abrasion is applied directly to the reinforcing band itself, which -may be of metal, which is easily capable of withstanding such abrasion. Moreover, the extending portions of the reinforcing band have an attractive appearance and can carry suitable designs or identifying information thereon.

In a specific embodiment of the invention, the band is formed of yan aluminum extrusion having radially extending portions which are sufficiently thin to be directly sewn to the cuff of the bag. Thus, the reinforcing band is directly secured to the bag to eliminate possible movement thereof with respect to the cuff, while other portions thereof extend outwardly of the cuff to form abrasion surfaces.

As a further advantage of the invention, the cuff, which previously :has been covered with a sheath of suitable material such as leather on which the reinforcing band is placed, may now be covered with smaller strips above and below the extending portions of the band, thus simplifying the manufacture of the cuff. Where this arrangement is used, the reinforcing band preferably has re-entrant portions which receive the ends of the two strips which cover the cuff.

In another embodiment of the invention, it is possible to eliminate the extending abrasible portion of the band by directly embedding a band within the cuff, and securing the band directly to the cuff, as by sewing or riveting, or the like. Where this novel .arrangement is used, t-he band is rigidly secured to the cuff to prevent the possibility of motion of the band so that the complete band need not be covered by a pocket-forming strip.

BZ Patented Jan. 25, i966 Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a novel reinforcing means for a ygolf bag cuff.

Another object of this invention is to provide a golf bag cuff which has an abrasible surface portion extending above the periphery thereof.

A `further object of this invention is to provide a novel golf bag cuff wherein the reinforcing means therefor is secured directly to the cuff as by sewing the reinforcing means to the cuff.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel rigid abrasible surface for a golf bag cuff which can withstand abrasion and has an attractive appearance.

Another object of this invention is to Iprovide -a novel golf bag cuff which reduces the possibility of failure of the bag.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE l schematically illustrates a side plan view of `a golf bag having an upper and lower cuff.

FIGURE 2 is a side plan view of the body of the upper cuff of FIGURE 1 before finishing.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 2 taken across the lines 3-3 in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a side plan view of the body of the lower cuff of FIGURE l before finishing.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 4 taken across the lines 5 5 in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a side View partially in cross-section of a cuff adapted with prior art type reinforcing means.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 6 taken across the lines 7-7 in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE S is a side plan view of a cuff having reinforcing means thereon in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of the reinforcing means and cuff of FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 10 is a side plan View of FIGURE 9 with various portions of the cuff broken away.

FIGURE 11 is similar to FIGURE l0, and illustrates the manner in which fa finishing member covers the cuff seam and reinforcing member seam.

FIGURE l2 shows a second embodiment of the invention wherein the reinforcing means is embedded in the cuff, and is sewn directly thereto.

FIGURE 13 is a further embodiment of the invention wherein the reinforcing means is secured directly to the cuff and is external of the cuff.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, I have illustrated a typical golf bag therein which has a suitable body of tubular configuration, .and which terminates in an upper cuff 11 and a lower cuff I2. Clearly, the lower cuff l2 will have a bottom wall, while the upper cuff Il. will have a tubular arrangement. The upper and lower cuffs lil and I2 respectively are secured to the body lll in any desired manner as by sewing, illustrated by the stitch lines ILS-14 for upper cuff 11 and 15-16 for lower cuff i2.

FIGURES 2 and 3 show the upper cuff body (before the cuff is provided with appropriate finishing materials) afs comprised of a suitable material such as a fiber strip 17 which is bent in the form of the tube whose ends abut at abutting region 18 and are stapled as by the staples 19.

This fiber tube could be formed in other ways. By way of example, the body 20 of lower cuff 12 is illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5 and, again, may be a suitable fiber material, the ends of which overlap at overlapping portion 21 to form the tubular shape. The overlapping ends are then secured together as by appro- E priate rivets 22, 23 and 24, or in any other desired manner.

After the formation of the cuff, previous practice has been to cover the fiber body with an outer finishing sheath of material such as leather. Thus, in FIGURES 6 and 7, which illustrate fiber body 17 for the upper cuff 11, a sheath 30 of leather or other suitable material is secured to the outer periphery of body 17. Note that all of the remarks in the following apply equally to the upper and lower cuffs.

In applying the sheath 30, the upper and lower ends 31 and' 32 thereof are tucked around body 17 and are glued to the inner surfaces of body 17 or are otherwise suitably secured thereto.

In order to now provide suitable rigidity to the cuff, it has been the common practice to form a steel band 33 which tits around the periphery of the cuff, as illustrated, :and is held in position by means of a leather strip 34 which is sewn above and below ring 33 to the body 17 of the cuff on stitch lines 35 and 36 respectively of FIGURE 6. It will be noted that this arrangement results in the central portion of strip 34 extending beyond the periphery of the cuff. Therefore, leather strip 34 is subjected to great abrasive wear. Moreover, no matter how tightly fitting the leather strip 34 is with respect to band 33, there will be a certain amount of movement of band 33 to thereby cause internal abrasion on strip 34. For these reasons, the strip 34 is rapidly worn through, thereby requiringy maintenance of the bag at frequent intervals and resulting in an unsightly appearance of the bag.

In accordance with the present invention, a novel reinforcing structure is provided for the cuffs which will not be subject to destructive abrasive wear. Thus, in FIGURE 8, the cuff V11 is illustrated as having a metallic surface 40 extending around the periphery thereof and extending beyond the periphery of the cuff. This metallic surface which can have an ornamental configuration, if desired, may, for example, be of aluminum or some other material which is capable of resisting abrasion and will, therefore, not be worn through or made unsightly after extended: use of the bag.

FIGURES 9 and 10 illustrate in cross-sectional and plan views respectively one embodiment of the invention. Referring now to FIGURES 9 and 10, the liber (or other suitable material) body 17 is provided with the band 40 which may be an aluminum extrusion having a cross-section of the type shown in FIGURE 9. The ends of the extrusion 40 abut one another, as illustrated in FIGURE l0, in the region 18 at which the ends of liber body 17 abut one another.

The metallic band 4t) more specifically has an extending head portion 41 which is connected to outwardly flaring sides 42 and 43 respectively which are connected to head portion 41 at the re-entrant reduced thickness portions 44 and 45 respectively.

The internal surface of band 40 is wrapped directly on the outer surface of member 17, and the finishing strips are then formed of two pieces 46 and 47 respectively which are Wrapped around the upper and lower portions of body 17, as shown by wrapped-over portions 48 and 49 respectively.

In applying iinishing strips 46 and 47 to body 17, the internal surface of strips 46 and 47 may first be coated with a suitable glue with the adjacent ends of strips 46 and 47 fitting into reduced width portions 44 and 45 of band 40, as illustrated. Thereafter, a finishing strip Stl of suitable material is lapplied around the inner periphery of member 17, and the assembly is then sewn together as at stich lines 51 and 52 respectively (FIGURES 8 and 9). It Will be observed that extending portions 42 and 43 of band 4t) have a suitable thickness to be capable of passing a sewing needle.

Accordingly, the resulting construction is one in which the reinforcing band 40 is directly secured to the cuff body 17 to provide the required rigidity for the cuff. It is to be noted that the dimensions shown in the gures are not representative of the true dimensions of a commercial arrangement wherein body 17 will have a substantially greater thickness than the finishing strips 46 and 47 and 5G.

The band 40, in addition to providing the rigidity, has the head portion 41 of band 40 extending beyond the periphery of the cuff to act as an abrasion surface. Since the material of band 40 is hard, such as an aluminum or steel extrusion, the head 41 can withstand abrasion normally applied to a golf bag without being damaged or distignred. Moreover, the head portion 41 can have a suitable ornamental configuration thereof such as parallel grooves, or the like, and can be of any desired color to impart great ornamental value to the bag. This ornamental value will, of course, be of a continuing nature and not subject to the unsightly wear of the prior art type of leather strip 34, shown in FIGURES 6 and 7.

Furthermore, the reinforcing band is directly secured to the cuff, and will not be able to move with respect thereto to further decrease the possibility of abrasion anywhere within the cuff, and to improve the reinforcing function of band 40.

In order to finish the cuff, and as illustrated in FIGURE ll, a finishing strip 61B which may be of metal or heavy leather is then riveted to the culi as by rivets 61 through 64. The finishing strip 6@ is preferably applied to the bag at the point where the junction 1S occurs and where the ends of extrusion 4t) meet so that this portion is hidden from view. Thus, the band 40 need not be cut to close tolerances since gaps at the abutting portion will be hidden from view. The finishing strip 60 may further serve to carry a ring 65 which can, in turn, receive a portion of the sling or handle used for carrying the bag.

A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGURE 12 wherein components similar to those of the preceding figures are given ksimilar identifying numerals. Thus, in FIGURE 12, the fiber body 17 having the single finishing strip 30 secured thereto isA provided with an external band 70 positioned between strip 30 and the external periphery of member 17. The band 70 is then directly secured to member 17 as by stitch lines 71 and 72 which are sewn directly through ring 70 so that movement of ring 70 with respect to member 17 is impossible. In a similar manner, ring 70 can be secured to member 17 by riveting or any other means of direct securement. Clearly, ring 7 (i may have a suitable configuration so that it has reduced thickness sections which can more easily receive a sewing needle or other securing means, and can, if desired, be directly embedded within a suitable undercut portion in member 17.

A still furthe-r embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGURE 13 wherein the cuff body 17 has the single finishing strip 30 secured thereto. The reinforcing member is then formed by the ring 75 which is of a suitable abrasion-resistant material which is directly sewn or otherwise secured to body 17. By way of example, member 75 may have portions thereof which ycan receive a sewing needle so that member 75 can be directly secured to body 17 by the stitch lines 76 and 77 respectively. Alternatively, member 75 can be directly riveted to body 17.

The embodiment of FIGURE 13 will serve the purpose of providing an external abrasion-resistant surface for the cuff as in the embodiment of FIGURES 8 through l0. Moreover, there will be no physical movement possible between body 17 and band 75 to provide improved reinforcing action for the band 75.

Although this invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it should be understood that many variations and modifications will now be obvious to those skilled in the art, and it is preferred, therefore, that the scope of this invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein but only by the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive privilege or property is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A cuff for a golf bag comprising a tubular body member, an elongated reinforcing member extending about the outer periphery of said tubular body member, and a securing means for rigidly securing said reinforcing member directly to said outer periphery of said tubular body member; said reinforcing member having a radially extending portion extending outwardly and beyond the outer periphery of said cuff to define an abrasion surface; said elongated reinforcing member having axially extending side flanges extending from the opposite sides thereof; said securing means extending directly through each of said side anges and into said tubular body.

2. In a golf bag cuff; said golf `bag cuff comprising a tubular body portion and axially shaped first and second outer periphery covering sheath portions; a reinforcing member; said -reinforcing member extending around the periphery of said tubular body portion and being interposed between said rst and second sheath portions; said reinforcing member having an extending head portion extending between and radially beyond said first and second sheath portions; `said extending head portion being connected to a securing means receiving portion disposed beneath at least one of said first and second sheath portions; and securing means extending through and directly `securing said securing means receiving portion, said at least one of said first or second sheath portions, and said tubular body portion.

3. The device substantially as set forth in claim 2 wherein said securing means includes stitches.

4. The device substantially as set forth in claim 2 wherein said securing means receiving portion includes a rst and second axially extending members received under the ends of said first and second sheath portions respectively.

5. The device substantially as set forth in claim 4 wherein said extending head portion is joined to said securing means receiving portion through a iirst and second re-entrantly shaped section; said ends of said first and second sheath portions being received in said first and second re-entrantly shaped head portions respectively.

6. A cuff Ifor a golf bag comprising a tubular body member, an elongated metallic reinforcing member extending about the ,outer periphery of said tubular body member, and a securing means for rigidly securing said reinforcing member directly to said outer periphery of said tubular body member; said securing means including stitches extending directly through `said reinforcing member and said tubular body; said reinforcing member hav ing a radially extending portion extending outwardly and beyond the periphery of said cuff to define an abrasion surface; a first and second covering sheath portion extending around the outer periphery of said cuff; said first sheath portion terminating at oneside of said extending portion of said reinforcing member; said second sheath portion terminating at the other side of said extending portion of said reinforcing member; said extending portion of said reinforcing member extending into a first and second re-entrantly shaped section; said -rst and second sheaths extending into said iirst and `second re-entrantly shaped portions.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 608,042 7/ 1898 Heath 206--83.5 1,208,031 412/1916 Smith 15G-1.5 1,684,111 9/1928 Rau 15G-1.5 1,902,644 3/1933 Hotze 15G-1.5 2,020,037 11/ 1935 McMurray et al 36-77 2,867,257 1/1959 Cart 150--15 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, GEORGE O. RALSTON, Examiners. 

1. A CUFF FOR A GOLF BAG COMPRISING A TUBULAR BODY MEMBER, AN ELONGATED REINFORCING MEMBER EXTENDING ABOUT THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID TUBULAR BODY MEMBER, AND A SECURING MEANS FOR RIGIDLY SECURING SAID REINFORCING MEMBER DIRECTLY TO SAID OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID TUBULAR BODY MEMBER; SAID REINFORCING MEMBER HAVING A RADIALLY EXTENDING PORTION EXTENDING OUTWARDLY AND BEYOND THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID CUT CUFF TO DEFINE AN ABRASION SURFACE; SAID ELONGATED REINFORCING MEMBER HAVING AXIALLY EXTENDING SIDE FLANGES EXTENDING FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDES THEREFO; SAID SECURING MEANS EXTENDING DIRECTLY THROUGH EACH OF SAID SIDE FLANGES AND INTO SAID TUBULAR BODY. 